Machine for threading sheet-metal pipes



(No Model.)

P. P. VOIGT I MACHINE FOR THREADING SHEET METAL PIPES.

Patented Sept. 6, 1887.

E li

7 M, mm

UNITED STATES PATEN'r rrrcnt FERDINAND F. VOIGT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS;

MACHINE FOR THREADING SHEET-METAL PlPES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 369,417, dated September 6, 1887.

Application filed October 19, 1886. Serial No. 216,637. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern:

leit known that l, FERDINAND F. VOIGT, acitizcn of the United States, residing in Chicago, county of Cook, and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Screw-Threading Sheet-Metal Pipes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in machines for screw threading sheet metal pipes, in which the pipe is fed into a headingmaehine at an oblique angle to the axis of rotation of the heading devices, a spiral bead, constituting the screw-thread, being formed in the pipe by reason of the latter being passed between two pressure-rollers, one having a bend or annular rib projecting into a corresponding annular groove on the other roller.

The prime object of this invent-ion is to so construct the mechanism employed for bolding and delivering the pipe to the feeder that the pitch of the thread to be formed on the pipe may be readily and instantly adjusted to any desired angle, and the thread formed as either a right or left hand screw-thread. Other objects are to provide a pipe-holding device adapted and arranged to hold pipes of varying sizes during the threading operation and capable of being so adjusted that the various sizes of pipes may be delivered to and operated upon by the same beading or threading machine, notwithstanding the fixed position of the latter relative to the pipe-holder and to their common support; to provide means for vertically adjusting the pipe-holder whereby pipes of different diameters may have their sides to be operated upon delivered to a header at a tired point, and to provide a scale and index so arranged that the pitch of the thread, whether right or left, may be readily and aecurately determined. Finally, to have rollers for the beading-machine so constructed that the thread on the pipe may be formed either toward or away from the end of the pipe-that is to say, started at the proper distance from the end and worked outwardly toward the end, or started at the end and worked inwardly or away from it, and to provide certain details of construction, all as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a

plan View thereof; Fig. 3, a transverse vertical section of Fig. 1; Fig. 4, a detail plan view of the forward end of the base-board supporting the pipeliolder, and Fig. 5 a detail View of the screw-threaded ends of two pipe-sections.

Similar letters of reference indicate the same parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, A indicates the table-support of my machine, consisting of a heavy board or timber of suitable dimensions, or it may be a table or the usual sheet-n1etal-workers bench, upon which is mounted another timber or base, B, constituting the immediate support of the pipeholder. This base consists of a board of the requisite and suitable length, secured at the forward end thereof to the table A by means of a bolt, 0, passing loosely through the base, and upon which the said base swings asapivot in a horizontal plane or parallel with the surface of the tablesupport A, to which it is socured. The opposite end of this board has secured thereto 011 the underside and projecting rearwardly therefrom a casting, I), provided with an oblong transverse slot, E, through which works a set-screw, F, for securing the sub-base at any desired point of its adjustment, the said screw projecting through the slot and engaging the table A on a line with the pivotbolt 0, upon which thebaseswings,oron aliue passing longitudinally and centrally through the base. As the slot E extends an equal distance on each side of this line, it is obvious that the base can be shifted or swung to either side of the center, the said slot being formed on an arc struck from the pivot-bolt of the base,and to' relieve said bolt from undue strain during the swinging motion, tending to lessen the rigidity of the connection between the table and base, I employ two flanged guide-bolts, G G, working through curved slots H H in the forward end of the base on either side of the pivot-bolt G and engaging the table A, the said curved slots permitting the swinging of the base on its pivot, while effectually preventing the twisting or bending of the same out of its usualpath of travel when swinging on its pivot.

Upon the base 13 is in turn mounted a frame consisting of transverse end timbers, I, and a longitudinal board, J, connecting the same,the frame as a whole being secured to the base by means of lips K, attached to-the under side of the cross-timbers I at the ends thereof, the said lips projecting under and engaging a longitudinal rib or shoulder formed on the side edges of the base, such a connection permitting a longitudinal movement of the said frame upon the base, but effectually preventing any lateral shifting thereof.

To secure the frame at any point of its adjustment I have provided a stud-bolt, M, rigidly secured to the base and projecting upwardly through a longitudinal slot formed in the board J, upon the outer end of which is screwed a screw-threaded washer, N, by means of which the frame may be tightly secured in any adjustable position.

Rigidly secured to the cross-bars I, at the ends thereof, respectively, are four screw-threaded rods, 0, projecting upwardly from the said bars, upon which work screw-threaded sleeves P l, of a length somewhat less than the rod, upon which sleeves rest horizontal flanges or lugs Q, cast with or otherwise rigidly secured to a semicircular trough, It, the said flanges or lugs being provided with holes through which the screw-rods project. I

The adjustment of the sleeves upon the screwthreaded rod serves to elevate and lower the trough with relation to the supporting-frame, so that variations in the size of pipes to be operated upon may be compensated for, as will hereinafter be described; and to further this end I prefer to form the trough of cast-iron, or the ends only of cast-iron, connected by a sheet-metal trough, having an inside diameter equal to the largest pipe to be operated upon, so that it will fit snugly when laid in the trough, and provide a series of troughs, each of less diameter than the next one, in which it is placed,corresponding to the various sized pipes to be operated upon,which series will be nested one within the other, as clearly shown in Fig. 3, but readily detachable one from the other, so that the large main trough will at all times remain in position, and any size of pipe may be operated upon by providing a corresponding number of metal troughs to receive the required size of pipe.

Should the weight of the trough not be sufficient to hold the same steadily in position upon the screW-threadedsleeve, nuts or screwwashers may be secured upon the screw-rods, so as to hold the trough in any desired position.

For the purpose of forming the thread on the pipe any beading-machine may be employed in connection with my pipe-holder; but for the purpose of illustration I have shown the simplest form of these devices known to me, consisting of a frame or casting, a,'fixed to the base A, and forming a support and bearing for two horizontal sh afts, b 0, located one above the other and connected by suitable gearing, the lower shaft, 0, in the present instance constituting the power-shaft, to the outer end of which is secured a crank-arm, d, for operating the same by hand. The opposite end of the shaft 0, as well as shaft b, has mounted thereon rollers e,

the one on the lower shaft being provided with an annular bead or rib, and the one on the upper shaft with a corresponding annular groove, into which the metal pressed outwardly by the bead is received. These shafts b c are held apart by spring-tension, which is overcome and the shafts or rollers forced together by a thumb-screw or screw-shaft, f, provided with mechanism for operating the same.

Although the construction of the headingmachine has no bearing upon my invention, an essential feature of this construction is that it must be of such a character that the beadingrollers when in position for operating upon the pipe shall be directly over the pivot G of the pipe-holder, so that the axis of said pivot will not only cross the axes of the beading-rollers in a vertical line at right angles thereto, but will also pass directly through the beading-rollers themselves, for such a construction is important to the perfect operation of the machine, in that it enables the shifting of the pipe to any oblique angle relative to the axis of the beading-rollers, as a result of which the angle of the thread formed upon the pipe may be varied at will and to a greater extent than is possible in any of the prior constructions. For example, the portion of the pipe being operated upon by the beadingrollers remains at all times directly over or in a vertical line with the pivot of the pi pe-holder, and therefore, no matter how much the pipe is swung to one side or the other, this portion directly under the beading-rollers can have no movement whatever, because it is the axis upon which the body of the pipe swings, while in all the prior constructions the pivot of the pipe-holder has been located at a greater orless distance to the front or rear of the beading-rollers, and, as a result, that portion of the pipe upon which the beading-rollers must necessarily operate would have a lateral bodily movement, depending in extent upon the dis tance which the pivot is located away from the beading-rollers, and if this distance be as great as in some of the prior constructions no lateral movement whatever could take place, the beading-rollers themselves absolutely preventing any such movement, while if located only a short distance away from said rollers the movement would be so limited as to be practically useless.

The plane of the axes of these shafts and rollers is coincident with the center line through the pipe-holder, so that the rollers operate at a right angle to said line, and the pitch of the thread therefore depends upon the angle at which the pipe is delivered to the rollers; and to enable the operator to more readily determine the pitch of the thread I have formed upon the table a suitable graduated scale at the rear end of the pipe-holder,

and an index-finger, formed upon the slotted casting D and projecting over the said scale.

In practice the operator works the crankhandle 61 with his right hand, while with his left he holds the pipe in position in the trough of the pipe-holder, permitting the same to slide forward, as drawn by the beading-rollers; but, if desired, one or more supplemental straps, 7i, may be attached to the troughs, hinged at one side and caught under a sui able catch at the opposite side, by means of which the pipe may be held in the trough while being fed to the rollers. (See Fig. 3.)

It will readily be observed that a thread may be formed on the pipe from the end inwardly or from a suitable distance in outwardly toward the end. By reversing the rollers from right to left and by reversing the rollers from top to bottom either a spiral head or groove may be formed in the pipe, according to their relative position-that is to say, if the groove-roller works on the inside of the pipe the head will project inwardly. and if on the outside of the pipe the head will project outwardly.

In conclusion I may add that the devices employed for adjusting the pipe-holding trough may be applied to the mechanism op crating the beading-rollers without a departure from the spirit of my invention, in which case the pipe-holder would be rigid'and the beading-rollers adjusted laterally and vertically, according to the pitch of the thread and the size of pipe being operated upon, the result in either case being the same.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a machine for screw-threading sheetmetal pipe, the beading-rollers and a support therefor, and a pipe-holder or support, in combination with the supporting-table and a pivot-connection between said table and one of said members, the axis of which pivot passes vertically through said beading-rollers and across the axes thereof, whereby the axis of the pipe in the holder crosses that of the beading-rollers on a line with the axis of the pivot at all times, notwithstanding the lateral shifting of either of said members, substantially as described.

2. In a machine for screw-threading sheetmetal pipe, the beading-rollers and the supporting-table, in combination with a pipeholder or support, a base for supporting said holder and a pivot-connection between said base and the table, the axis of which pivot passes vertically through said beading-rollers and across the axes thereof, substantially as described.

3. In a machine for screw-threading sheetmetal pipes, the beading-rollers and the supporting-table, in combination with the base, a pivot-connection between said base and the supporting-table, the pipe -holding trough, and a vertically adjustable connection be tween said trough and the base, substantially as described.

4. In a machine for screw-thrcading sheetmetal pipes, the beading-rollers and the sup porting-table, in combination with the base, a pivot-connection between said base and the supporting-table, and the pipe-holding trough longitudinally adjustable upon said base, substantially as described.

5. In a machine for screw-threading sheetmctal pipes, the table, the base, a pivot connection between one end of said base and the table, and a set-screw and slot connection between the opposite end of said base and the table, in combination with the pipeholding trough, a frame supporting said trough, a sliding connection between said frame and base, and the vertically-adj ustable connection between said frame and the trough, substantially as described.

6. In a machine for screw-threading sheet metal pipes, the pipe-holding trough, lugs or flanges thereomand a frame supporting and carrying said trough, in combination with vertical screw-th readed rods secured to said frame and passing loosely through said lugs or flanges,

and screw-threaded sleeves working on said rods intermediate said lugs and the frame, substantially as described.

7. In a machine for screw-threading sheetmetal pipes, a pipe-holding device consisting of a series of semicircular troughs of different diameters and nested one within the other in the order of sizes, and lugs or flanges on the largest trough, in combination with a frame supporting and carrying said trough, vertical screw-threaded rods secured to said frame and passing loosely through said lugs or flanges, and screw-threaded sleeves working on said rods intermediate said lugs and the frame, substantially as described.

FERDINAND F. VOIGT.

Witnesses:

WILL R. OMOIIUNDRO, \V. IV. ELLIOTT. 

